The present application is directed to an apparatus for applying a wrap around cover to a pad created sheets of paper and preferably to such a pad having a pre-existing backing and wherein the sheets of paper are adhered together near one end thereof. The application is also directed to the method of forming a cover pad with such an apparatus.
Tablets and pads that are formed by joining together multiple sheets of paper are quite common and extremely varied in type. Some such articles have paper that have been previously printed, such as forms, certain blank sheets, such as note pads, or the like. The paper in such goods is usually joined in stacks by gluing, stapling or some other means, typically at or near one end of a stack of the paper. Because of the wide variety of shapes and sizes of such tablets and pads, it is sometimes quite difficult to design machines that are sufficiently varied to be able to make or further process pads of many different sizes and shapes. Consequently, pads of this type often require intensive manual labor which is quite expensive and slow for both initial manufacture and customization.
The present invention is directed to a semi-automated apparatus which applies a wrap around cover to a pad of paper of the type described above. In particular, pads, such as note pads, are often provided with multiple sheets of paper with a stiff back constructed of cardboard or the like. It is often desirable in these types of pads, especially for certain markets, to provide a wraparound cover which is adhered to the back, but which wraps around and covers the front of the pad in a manner so as to allow a user to lift the cover and use the pad. Joining of such a wraparound cover with a pad has typically been performed by the manual labor described above. The purpose of the apparatus and method of the present invention is to provide for such covers to be applied in a rapid and at least semi-automated manner so as to improve quality, reduce cost and substantially increase speed, especially when the pads are manufactured and fed to the apparatus from an automated production line.